Jack Michaud
Leading Member
Anyone hear anything like this? I'll bet they could offer this in a couple months and rake in even more money from their legions. I know I'd consider it.
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Firmware upgrade to near-10D spec from Canon?
- Thread starter Jack Michaud
- Start date
Spiky
Leading Member
This has been beaten to death. Um, they haven't released one for the Rebel 2000 to match it up with the Elan 7. Doubtful there would be such a thing for the 300D. Face it, "Rebel" cameras are cheaper because they don't have all the features of models costing more. They aren't going to give you those functions for free.
Jack Michaud
Leading Member
No sh!t. That's why I said they could do this and rake in more money. I would consider buying a firmware upgrade down the road for $100 or so.
Glenn Anderson
Forum Enthusiast
Aren't the Rebel 2000 and Elan 7 film cameras? And as such, can't really be upgraded by simply flashing the BIOS as is the case for digital cameras. To upgrade would require changing the ROM in them, which would entail opening the camera up, etc. The cost to do so would likely exceed the cost of simply trading up.
Also, even if one could up grade the BIOS in a film camera, there isn't anywhere near the options/upgrades/features that could be upgraded via software that there is with a digital camera.
Also, even if one could up grade the BIOS in a film camera, there isn't anywhere near the options/upgrades/features that could be upgraded via software that there is with a digital camera.
Spiky
Leading Member
Granted, partly. The custom functions and choice of when to use AF-Servo, etc. (the "missing" features on the 300D/2000) are electronic, no? There have been firmware upgrades for film cameras, these would have the same ability as digital if made that way by Canon. I believe there was one for the Elan 7, which was installed by dealers as there is no USB or other link. Hot shoe link, IIRC.
Whatever, take bets or something. I'll lay odds that Canon will NOT upgrade via firmware. They may fix issues or bugs if they come up, but you will not suddenly see FEC, 2nd curtain sync, One Shot, focus on , etc. for the 300D. This camera is a lower product. No matter what you think, they won't simply upgrade for $0-500 to "make it" a 10D. Buy the 10D if you really want it. I'm going for the 300D -- I can't really afford the 10D this year since I want a projector in my HT.
Whatever, take bets or something. I'll lay odds that Canon will NOT upgrade via firmware. They may fix issues or bugs if they come up, but you will not suddenly see FEC, 2nd curtain sync, One Shot, focus on , etc. for the 300D. This camera is a lower product. No matter what you think, they won't simply upgrade for $0-500 to "make it" a 10D. Buy the 10D if you really want it. I'm going for the 300D -- I can't really afford the 10D this year since I want a projector in my HT.
Spiky
Leading Member
I didn't even understand that, should be:
I believe there was one for the Elan 7, which was installed by dealers as there is no USB or other consumer-usable link. They used a hot shoe link, IIRC.
I believe there was one for the Elan 7, which was installed by dealers as there is no USB or other consumer-usable link. They used a hot shoe link, IIRC.
fuben
Leading Member
I think they sold a firmware upgrade for the 7i that made it closer to the 7Hi.
Canon's never done it before, but given the number of DRebels they're going to sell, wouldn't that be a good strategy ($$$$)? The average DRebel buyer might not want to upgrade cameras for a couple of years, but might be willing to pay 100 bucks for more performance and/or features.
Regards,
FuBenChu
My vaguely interesting pictures:
http://www.pbase.com/benp
Canon's never done it before, but given the number of DRebels they're going to sell, wouldn't that be a good strategy ($$$$)? The average DRebel buyer might not want to upgrade cameras for a couple of years, but might be willing to pay 100 bucks for more performance and/or features.
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Regards,
FuBenChu
My vaguely interesting pictures:
http://www.pbase.com/benp
D
Dave Lewis
Guest
Surely wouldn't make much sense. Why would they want to take sales away from the 10D.
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Dave Lewis
David Barker91965
Senior Member
On that basis, why release the 300D? I was considering a 10D but the 300D was announced in the nick of time. I saved £500!
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David Barker
Travis
Senior Member
Canon clearly draws a line between their cameras with obvious planning. You can get a Digital Rebel or you can get a 10d - there isn't going to be a stop-gap or any kind of firmware upgrade to make it more like the 10d. That would be pretty silly for them to do UNLESS they release an upgrade to the 10d that has more features and THEN make the Digital Rebel more like the older 10d. But even this is a stretch because by the time that happens, they would be even closer to the release of an updated Digital Rebel anyway.
Frankly, if there are firmware updates for the Digital Rebel, I believe they won't be to make the Digital Rebel more like the 10d.
Travis
Peter K Wagner
Leading Member
I don't think you'll see a firmware upgrade restoring the features that were purposfully removed UNLESS there is competition from Nikon (or other) in this area. At the moment, it looks like the 300D is so far ahead on price/features that there is no reason to roil the waters with a controversial software upgrade. (I assume many customers would be irritated if they realized that some of the limitations of the 300D are artifical crippling for purposes of marketing.)
Perhaps 6 months down the road when the 10D is replaced, the 300D will gain the software features back and original 300D owners will get a software upgrade (possibly for free).
Perhaps 6 months down the road when the 10D is replaced, the 300D will gain the software features back and original 300D owners will get a software upgrade (possibly for free).
Dr. Don Sandell
Senior Member
If that EVER happens, it won't be until the sucessor to the D10 is brought out.......and I wouldn't lay money on that.
Jack Michaud
Leading Member
I'm not talking about making it equivalent to the 10D, just - something - for us gadget heads for a hundred or so. Maybe a grand isn't a lot of money to you all, but it is to me. I can tell you that I won't be upgrading to a new camera for quite some time, and also that I'll never spend more than a grand on a camera.
Peter Phan
Senior Member
Rest assured, Canon wants to keep the Rebel a Rebel and the 10D a 10D. Each camera has a featureset tailored (or limited, you might call it) for that market segment/price point. It doesn't matter if is technically can or can't be done. They just won't do it. They want the Rebel to be an entry-level camera, the 10D to be a mid-level camera, and the 1D/1Ds to be a pro-level camera. If you want to have the features of the 10D, they want you to buy the 10D, not buy a 300D and wait for a $100 firmware upgrade that wiill make it a 10D (or nearly a 10D).
padeye99656
Senior Member
The firmware upgrade was for the original Dimage 7 and it did not make it close to the two later models. A few things were enhanced but without additional buffer memory it performed no better. It was my experience as with many others that autofocus got worse (and I didn't think that was possible) and sometimes the camera would get "old timer's disease" and would need to have its memory reset, losing all custom settings, to function normally again.
Mostly the upgrade fixed some deficiencies with the camera. The biggest being that if you tried to use it with non dedicated flash the viewfinder would be unusably dark as the camera was trying to "simulate" the exposure from the current shutter and aperture settings in the viewfinder.
Mostly the upgrade fixed some deficiencies with the camera. The biggest being that if you tried to use it with non dedicated flash the viewfinder would be unusably dark as the camera was trying to "simulate" the exposure from the current shutter and aperture settings in the viewfinder.
Justme
Forum Pro
If I recall, in that case the improved features of the 7Hi came out AFTER the 7i camera had been around awhile already. In this case many who had already purchased the 7i may have opted for the improved 7Hi if it had been ready at the time they purchased the 7i. I can see Minolta doing it for a case like that. It was not the 7i owners fault for buying the 7i since 7i was the only one available.
In the 10D/300D, buyers of both cameras are making a conscious decision on which one to buy. It would be nice if Canon offered a pay-to-upgrade firmware but I doubt we'll be seeing that happening anytime soon. Any disabled 10D features may find there way into future versions of the 300D along the 300D's upgrade succession path. Of course Canon will have to put out a better one each year so people will upgrade, just like the D30 ---> D60 ----> 10D ----> ? and (G1 ----> G2 ----> G3 ----> G5 ----> ?).
Justme
Forum Pro
I vaguely recall reading about the issue at the time and not 100% certain about the model numbers themselves. I see someone responded to the above post and corrected the model number but the point is the same.
Peter Phan
Senior Member
It goes both ways. For every one of you, there's another person who's interest was piqued by the 300D, evaluated it, and decided to spend the extra money and get the 10D instead.
Plus, for every one of you, there are probably a couple dozen people who were never going to get a 10D at all, but could afford a 300D, and bought one.
Additionally, it gets all these users into the Canon EOS system. And as they progress and advance in skill level, many of these will move up to a 10D-level camera in a couple years or so, further propogating the buying cycle. So the important thing is to maintain enough feature differences between the entry-level body and the mid-level body to make an advancing user want to upgrade. If there's not enough difference, there won't be enough incentive to upgrade for that advancing user. And jumping all the way to a pro-level body may be too expensive for them.
I started out with a Rebel X film SLR. I eventually upgraded to an Elan IIe film SLR. I probably would have been less likely to do it if I could simply get a firmware upgrade that would have made my Rebel more Elan-like.
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